West African drumming instructor says drumming brings calming effect to one's being.

You've got it in you.

We all do.

Our hearts beat in rhythm, our lungs breathe in rhythm, our legs walk in rhythm, our language even speaks a rhythm. And according to musician and drumming guru Matthew Marsolek, that's the reason that any guy can keep a beat -- whether he thinks so or not.

"There's a new field of study that looks at the ways everything in nature vibrates and is harmonic," Marsolek said. "Basically the universe can be said to be musical."

Studies have found that the human heart in a state of peaceful rest beats in a rhythm of three, Marsolek explained.

Lub-Dub (rest) Lub-Dub (rest)

"Native Americans and other native people across the world use this rhythm a lot to bring people into a state of peace and rest," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of all lullabies around the planet are in the rhythm of a heartbeat, a slow rhythm of three."

Conversely, music created for dancing and movement is always in a rhythm of two or four, like an aerobic heartbeat.

Lub-Dub-Lub-Dub-Lub-Dub

Not only does drumming, making rhythmical music, come naturally to people, but it naturally brings people together.

"In music there is a phenomenon called entrainment (in physics it's called mode locking) where there is a propensity for rhythms to lock into a relationship together," Marsolek said. "The very powerful thing about drumming is that a group of people can have entrainment together. As we sustain the rhythm, we begin to entrain together and suddenly we are all sharing this intimate moment, the same pattern, like the same thought."

Some musicians call it "in the groove" or "in the pocket." It's when it all clicks. And it can be a calming experience.

According to Marsolek, when a person drums for a length of time, his or her brain activity entrains to a slower level. It's calming.

"I think it's healing. We have very few instances in time to rest and let our brains catch up," he said with a laugh, adding that music therapists have started to use the brainwave phenomena as a therapeutic tool.

Part of the beauty of drumming is that a person can come into a drumming circle without any drumming experience and almost instantly become a contributing part of the group.

So it's no wonder why cultures all around the world use the music of drums for ceremonial and other tribal purposes. It's a natural experience and it's a beautiful way to connect to one another and create a common mood for a certain cause.

In the last few years, drumming circles have been formed in every major city in Montana -- many with the inspiration from Marsolek's group Drum Brothers. Weekly, monthly or quarterly drummers bring their djembes and ashikos -- or whatever drum they choose to bring -- to the circle. One person leads with a rhythm, and gradually everyone joins in with corresponding rhythms.

Sandra Stewart used to belong to a women's drumming group in Helena that got together regularly for about 10 years.

"Some people use it as a way to keep balance and it helps them feel connected to their bodies and to the earth. For me it was just community and being with other women, and it was like a prayer at some level. Coming into community, in a circle of women, where there's all that support and love is very, very important. And it is facilitated by the drum. The drum is the tool," she said.

And each drum circle experience is different, depending on what is going on the drummers' lives, she said.

"Sometimes it doesn't come together and when it does, it's just beautiful. Sometimes the drums sing ... and it's almost like voices," Stewart said.

At a recent workshop led by Marsolek and Nathan Zavalney, both members of Drum Brothers, participants learned a West African rhythm used for weddings. The group learned three different rhythms that go together. When the group split up into the three groups, a powerfully moving sound filled the room. It didn't take long for this group of mostly strangers to get into the groove.

Marsolek swears that after a group of people has shared a rhythm for a while, their biorhythms become synchronized.

"That is remarkable," he says.

The other remarkable aspect of drumming for Marsolek is the way time changes for the drummer. Often after people start keeping a rhythm, they lose track of time.

"When we make rhythm together, we're leaving linear time and entering cyclic time. It's not measured. It's like you're in an eddy, rather than rushing down the river," he explained.

Some people see drumming as a spiritual experience, but Marsolek keeps language of spirituality out of his workshops.

"Each person has their own way of looking at it. The way I see it is that music itself is about emotion and feeling and community. I want to keep the doors open so that everybody can experience it," he said.

The 36-year-old Helena native has been studying West African drumming for 12 years. He is a member of Drum Brothers and Mandir, both musical groups based in the Missoula area. Accomplished in guitar, piano and voice, he became interested in drumming and drum making while working at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in his early 20s.

Now Marsolek and Drum Brothers teach workshops on drumming and drum making all over the country. They will release their second album this spring and will offer weekend retreats throughout the summer.

"(A retreat) is a music community for the weekend. We focus on celebration and the practice of creative expression in the arts. You can build a drum, sing, dance, eat and celebrate life," he said.

Tonight Marsolek will lead an evening of Sanskrit and world chanting from 8 to 10 p.m. at Yes! Yoga, 312 Fuller Ave. The cost is $12 at the door.

For more information about drumming and rhythm opportunities in Helena, call Gaia's Galleria, 495-0490, and The Helena Indian Alliance, 442-9244.

For information and a schedule of drum workshops by Drum Brothers, go to their Web site at www.drumbrothers.com.